Imagine Boston 2030 is Boston’s first comprehensive, city-wide planning project in more than 50 years. Rooted in community engagement, the two-year campaign, which began in the fall of 2015, asks Bostonians to share their visions for the city in discussions that seek to identify the challenges and opportunities that face those that live in Boston.

Boston University's City Planning & Urban Affairs program has answered this call with iBU2030, its own university-wide public engagement campaign, which launched in spring 2016.

In partnership with the Initiative on Cities, and in collaboration with BU’s Boston Urban Symposium capstone class, the initiative is led by Professor Rami El Samahy and guided by a panel of eminent urban experts. In it, symposium students train their focus on BU’s place within Imagine Boston’s overarching goals and plans. As the city’s largest university system and second-largest employer, and as an eminent educational and medical institution in a place known for leadership in both fields, Boston University will serve as an important case study for Imagine Boston 2030’s broader plan.

Understanding the complex relationship between people and the urban environments in which they live is the core of urban planning, and the goal of iBU2030 is to explore how individuals affiliated with the University interact with the city. To achieve this, iBU2030 will promote discussion about how and why people choose to live, work, play, and learn in the city by gathering input from the BU community of students, faculty, and staff.

Spearheaded by symposium students, iBU2030 believes the feedback it gathers will help to understand the challenges and prioritize the needs of different BU stakeholders in relation to the City’s planning efforts. Upon completion of the initiative, findings will be presented to Imagine Boston 2030.

This engagement campaign runs through spring and summer of 2016, and will include a series of focus groups, visioning consultations, and online surveys. Participants will be asked questions such as: What do you see as potential barriers in attracting young professionals to work, live, play, or learn in Boston? From your perspective, what steps could the city take to attract more students or young workers seeking educational, social, cultural, and employment opportunities?

This project will culminate in October 2016 with a final charrette and a presentation of the campaign findings, where community members from across BU will have a chance to participate and comment on the ideas presented. Apart from the solicitation of feedback and dissemination of findings, a primary goal of the iBU2030 effort is to create a sustained community engagement process to encourage and empower a unified BU voice, allowing the community to become a major player in Boston’s comprehensive planning efforts.